I have an idea of what I will be applying to.
d. Yes, I’m just waiting on you to tell me how.
e. Yes, and I have already started to develop my
application materials.
7.What is the main way you identify the opportunities you go after?
a. I don’t know how.
b. I use popular scholarship and job databases.
c. Looking at postings around campus.
d. Through the relationships I have developed.
e. Through people in my department or activities I
am engaged in.
Using the following key, calculate your score by adding up your answers.
a = 1
b = 2
c = 3
d = 4
e = 5
What is your score for the following sections?
What & Why _______________
Education _______________
Experience _______________
Relationships _______________
Presentation _______________
Time _______________
Money _______________
Total _______________
If your score was below 21 in any section, concentrate on developing yourself in that area.
If your score was between 21 – 32 in any section, peruse that section to understand what you can do to improve.
If your score was above 33 in any section, then you may be able to skip that section in this book. However, you never know what you may learn to improve how awesome you already are.
If your total score was below 147, then this book is one of the best investments you have ever made. This book is for you. Be sure to read, take in, and apply everything.
If your score was between 147 – 234, then take the time to review this book and use it to improve yourself.
If your total score was higher than 235, then congratulations!!! Money and opportunities are surely aligning themselves to your path. You are a force to be reckoned with. The sections on Tailoring your Presentation and Identifying Opportunities may of most value to you.
You have taken the first step to mastering The Academic Hustle! Continue to use this assessment as a guide to measure how well you are taking advantage of this system.
The Foundation of The Academic Hustle
If you know exactly what you want and are determined to achieve it, all you have to do is put in the work.
Set The Foundation: Identify What and Why
Anything you wanna be you can be it
If your mind can perceive it
And your heart really believe it
Then you half way there and all you got to do is do it
And if you give it all you got there ain’t really
Nothin to it
—Dead Prez, “The Game of Life”
This chapter’s objectives are designed to:
🖊Help you figure out what you want out of life.
🖊Identify your motivation to do it.
🖊Create a plan for your career.
🖊Provide you with the tools to understand where you are.
🖊Define the steps to get you where you want to be.
Although life can be challenging, we are blessed to operate beyond the world of common animals that react based on mere circumstance. We must secure our basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter; however, we can also craft a life that will fulfill our needs, wants, desires, while realizing our dreams. Unfortunately, society is organized in a way that diminishes our unique and powerful individuality. We are socially and culturally brainwashed into being mindless consumers focused on clothes, likes on social media, money, and the latest goofy attitude or saying for the sake of popularity. The idea of looking into and understanding ourselves is considered “deep.” We have such an unconscious fear of looking inside ourselves to uncover what truly inspires us because of what others may think. Living with this fear causes us to dismiss those who are on the journey into greatness. We become lazy spectators of life and view the work needed to realize our dreams as too draining because, honestly, we really don’t feel we are worth it. “Oh well,” we say. We choose what we thing are more important things to do and experience.
People on the path of discovery are on the move, even if they seem to be completely still and meditating; after all, they are inwardly moving toward something. Such movement draws excitement, just as inaction would attract the unambitious. When you understand what inspires you and why, you just do it. This shows others what you’re about in your speech (“closed mouths don’t get fed”) and in your actions (“lazy hands don’t count bread”). Such activity builds reputation. It attracts those with similar interests, those who link up with you to upgrade their own dreams. This attraction pushes the dead weight out of your life and can unlock your potential to attract money and other resources beyond your wildest imaginations.
Understanding what you want out of life and why you want it will give you a certain amount of focus in life that very few people have.
Find the Motivation: Personal Mission Statement
A man with money is no match against a man on a mission.
—Doyle Brunson
Your purpose must be established before you can be about the money. If you have lots of money but no true aim in life, then you have resources without direction. You attract nothing but a lazy entourage willing to kiss up to you to get at your money. That’s a sad situation. A man such as Barack Obama, with little money and a mission, can inspire those with money, influence, and connections to make all kinds of things happen.
We all go through life with a need to do something fulfilling, something that can change the world, our community, our families, or ourselves. Some of us want to create new things or improve on what is already out there. Others want to make money, gain recognition, or just excel. Whatever it is, we want to be fulfilled by what we do. We want to be proud of our actions and creations, and we also want to make our friends and family proud. One of the most rewarding things you can do in life is find and pursue what fulfills you. It will give you the motivation to do whatever it takes to be the best at what you want to
